The initiative recognises relevant, accessible academic writing and takes it to a wider audience of practising managers. It is a collaboration with the British Academy of Management, the Advanced Institute of Management Research, the Association of Business Schools, the British Library and is sponsored by John Wiley and Sons Ltd, one of the world’s leading business publishers.

As the only chartered professional body for management and leadership in the UK, CMI provides forward-thinking advice and support on management issues for its 90,000 members and thousands of wider stakeholders.

The article was voted on by a panel of over 350 judges, the majority of whom are Fellows of the Institute; the Institute’s most senior and experienced members. They chose the co-authored paper “Rethinking Change: Downsizing businesses, changing behaviours and still managing to come out top” as one of the top 5 articles from a pool of over fifty.

Based on research in facility closure management with Vauxhall UK, the article reached three fundamental conclusions: put your people first, make sure you keep running your business and manage your legacy. These ideas were developed into a new business model linked to the emotions of change.

The CMI initiative encourages articles tailored to a practitioner audience, which take a clear set of actionable ideas to a group of people who can implement them. Professor Joseph Lampel from Cass Business School explained why the initiative is so important to management researchers:

“By the very nature of what they do, ultimately, they want to see it used by others. Management research would not be valued or legitimate if it did not lead to improvement or practical use.”

Following the success of the article, Dr Butler is now a contributor to the CMI’s Practitioner Member Panel and a founding member of the CMI Faculty.

The Faculty’s aim is:‘Through the Faculty, CMI hopes to draw upon the expertise of senior managers, academics, practitioners and consultants to strengthen CMI’s body of knowledge and raise the standard of management practice in the UK. The CMI Faculty will recognise and celebrate the active contribution of our members, promoting lifelong learning via an enhanced online platform.’